Faith Alone Does Not Save, No Matter How Much You Believe It Does

13 min readJan 22, 2022

Sola Fide
Easy Believism
Calvinism
Forensic Justification
Imputed Righteousness
Once Saved Always Saved

This blog gives sight to all the goats who believe in man-made doctrines that have no biblical base and in fact contradict biblical teachings.

This blog is an eye-opener for those who think they’re already saved, and for those who wish to be actually saved. You may not want to read this article all at once.

I invite you to use it as a Bible study to arm and equip yourself against the fallacies and false interpretations of a false “Christianity” that has been manipulating people’s minds, hearts, and lives for hundreds of years.

That’s why I have chosen to explain carefully, point by point, Bible passage by Bible passage. I don’t expect them to change their minds. I’m not writing this article for people whose minds are already made up.

I’m writing it for people who want to be truly saved, with the means mentioned in the gospel, according to what Jesus and His disciples taught, and bring them to the God who is good, loving, and just.

It provides an opportunity to correct many mistaken notions about what the Bible says. It provides an opportunity to offer you, my readers, a better and deeper understanding of the good, loving, and practical message of the Holy Bible.

I’m going to walk you through the Bible passages, explaining what the apostles actually meant when they wrote the letters.

Shall we begin?

“We are saved by faith alone.”

The Bible doesn’t say it. In fact, the Bible rejects it.

Where did faith alone come from?

The answer is simple. The doctrine of salvation by faith alone did not come from the Bible. It came from Martin Luther (1483–1546) as part of his doctrinal and ecclesiastical break from the Roman Catholic Church

When you’ve been raised to believe something so fundamentally that it forms the basis of your spirituality, it can be quite difficult and disorienting to learn that your belief isn’t supported by the Scriptures or by the facts.

This is especially the case with Protestants who have had the doctrine of salvation by faith alone taught to them since they were children in Sunday School and preached to them every week from the pulpit at church.

But the fact of the matter is that the doctrine of salvation, or justification, by faith alone simply isn’t taught in the Bible. It originated 1,500 years after the last books of the Bible were written, at the time of the Protestant Reformation.

For 1,500 years, Christians of all stripes made sense of the Bible without a single Protestant doctrine, because neither Protestantism nor its signature doctrines of justification by faith alone and penal substitution existed.

Yes, Luther had good reason to reject many of the faulty doctrines and corrupt practices of the Catholic Church in which he had been an ordained priest. B

ut when he set up justification by faith alone as the centerpiece of his new branch of Christianity, he jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire doctrinally.

Ever since then, salvation by faith alone has been ardently preached and taught in Protestant churches around the world.

And because Protestants hear it preached and taught so often and so forcefully as God’s own unvarnished truth straight from the Bible, whenever they read the Bible, everything in it screams “faith alone” to their minds.

Most people are not willing to question what they have been taught and accept it blindly, thus when an alternative understanding is given they are most likely to label it as a cult. Many Christian Churches have become so corrupt they do not know what is true or false anymore.

And yet, there is not a single verse in the Bible that says that we are justified, or saved, by faith alone. In fact, the Bible specifically and clearly denies it!

This is very hard — even impossible — for the vast bulk of Protestants to accept.

No matter how clearly this fact is pointed out to them, they still continue to maintain that that’s what the Bible really means, even if it doesn’t say it in so many words, and that we really are justified by faith alone, just as Martin Luther taught.

It is so deeply ingrained in their minds by continuous teaching and preaching over many years that most Protestants simply cannot see that the key doctrine on which their spiritual life is founded is not supported by the Scriptures or by the facts.

I have found that when Christians who belong to particular churches read the Bible, they interpret everything in it to support their church’s particular beliefs:

~ If they believe that faith alone saves, they’ll see that everywhere in the Bible.
~ If they believe that only Christians go to heaven, they’ll see that everywhere in the Bible.
~If they believe that we should love and serve only those who agree with our particular beliefs, they’ll see that everywhere in the Bible.

And that is a pity. Because what the Bible actually does teach is far greater and more beautiful than the doctrine of justification by faith alone that Martin Luther set up as the distinguishing feature and foundation stone of Protestantism.

It’s entirely alien to the culture and teachings of the Bible, both Old Testament and New.

Here’s the problem with protestants; they protest against God’s Word.

They think that God’s expectations are impossible for humans to fulfill. Though they consider themselves as people with “faith”, the Scripture says that their faith is dead (James 2:26).

Though they claim to be His sheep, Jesus says they are not (John 10:27). They don’t trust in God’s words & commandments; They neither do them nor let others do.

Within the sphere of what is known as Christianity, there exists a multitude of “spiritual leaders” who adhere to various doctrines that are completely inconsistent with God’s Word.

With them, tradition and convention take precedence over the clear teachings within the Word of God. In fact, I studied in a protestant school; they taught me that people go to heaven if they solely accept Jesus Christ as Lord.

I was wondering how that works. It was only when I actually started studying the Bible, that I realized that they were wrong.

According to many modern-day evangelical (so-called “born-again”) Christians, the only thing a person has to do to be saved is to sincerely say the following prayer, or something equivalent to it:

“Dear God, I am a sinner and need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He shed His precious blood and died for my sin. I now invite Christ to come into my heart and life as my personal savior.”

At the conclusion of this short prayer (it took me about 10 seconds to say it), we are told, that Jesus Christ will allow them entrance into heaven.

Nothing else is required to be saved, these “Christians” believe, and there is no other way to be saved; good deeds are not required for salvation, nor do they help attain it; they are merely the outward expression of inward faith.

The doctrine of Sola Fide (Latin for “by faith alone”) is commonly expressed as: “Justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ’s righteousness alone.”

Perhaps one of the all-time greatest delusions in the Christian world is the innumerable number of people who are under the impression that, in order to be forgiven their sins and inherit eternal life, all they have to do is believe Jesus died for their sins on the cross.

If one were to ask the vast majority of Christians what one has to do to be saved, you would get a variety of answers such as “accept Jesus as your personal savior”, or, as many misleadingly put it — “accept Jesus into your heart”.

Although the terminology may vary, the answers would almost always boil down to all you have to do is believe… all you have to do is have faith.

This is nothing like what is in the Bible. It blasphemes the name of God. It misrepresents and slanders Jesus Christ and every other teacher in the Bible.

That’s why young people today are fleeing Christianity in droves. They are either becoming “spiritual but not religious” or are moving all the way over to agnosticism and atheism.

Sola Fide is not only contrary to the plain teachings of the Bible but actually detracts from and confuses the plain teachings of the Bible in the minds of faithful Christians.

The Bible is very clear about the requirements for justification and salvation. The doctrine of Sola Fide contradicts that clear teaching, which is stated hundreds of times throughout the entire Bible, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.

There are zero passages in the Bible that say that we are saved by faith alone. There are zero passages that say that love for the neighbor and good deeds for the neighbor do not justify or save us. There are hundreds of passages that say that the opposite is true.

What did Jesus command all people before and after He was resurrected? Yet, the Lutherans teach people to be saved in a way that will never save them. It was clear when Jesus asked us to “sin no more”, which simply means to sin no more.

Any doctrine that’s essential to Christianity and essential to salvation must be clearly present in the plain words and teachings of the Bible, without the need for reason and interpretation by human theologians.

I completely disagree that the Bible isn’t all that clear on what its theme is. Based on my extensive reading of the Bible, it is very clear, and there’s really no need for fancy human theologians to “figure it out” for people and provide some “larger theological interpretation.”

Any person with basic reading comprehension can read the Bible and get a pretty good idea of what it’s about and what you have to do to be saved. That’s how clear and powerful the Bible is.

It can cut through all of our human confusion and fallacy and still convey the message of eternal life to those who sincerely seek it.

“Christians” have largely abandoned the teachings of Jesus in favor of so many man-made ideas over the centuries, and there is thus much confusion and contradictions among the nearly 30 thousand denominations, sects, and splinter groups all claiming to be “Christian”.

This is not merely a matter for theologians to discuss and debate and speculate about. This is an issue that every single pastor and layperson must understand in order that the gospel may be rightly proclaimed to all nations.

What Luther had done is, he took on a few salvation verses from Paul and gave his own understanding of it. He either ignored other passages, interpreted them symbolically, or attributed unusual meanings to them.

On the other hand, there is an overwhelming number of passages throughout the Bible, including ones from Paul, stating that our salvation does not depend merely on our belief.

First, I ask them to show me where in the Bible it is taught that we are saved by faith alone. They can’t because it doesn’t. The only place in all of Scripture where faith alone appears is in James 2:24. Here it is:

You should see then that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

That’s right. In the one and only place in the entire Bible where faith alone appears, it is specifically and explicitly rejected as saving. The first two chapters of James make it “crystal” clear that faith alone doesn’t save.

I simply don’t see how the Bible could be any clearer than to say faith alone is dead.

Luther actually wanted to remove the book of James from the Bible because it went against his newly invented doctrine. (I wish his fellow Protestants were as honest about this book as the founder of Protestantism himself was).

The Bible still stands in its clear rejection of justification by faith alone.

This is just an introduction page, click the link on each of the following subheadings to read them.

1. Faith alone is not even faith!

2. Paul never taught faith alone

3. The Bible talks about the trinity, and not a trinity of persons

4. Jesus came to save us from sins and not to pay the penalty

5. Christ’s righteousness was never “imputed” to us

6. The theory of original sin fails miserably

7. False teaching means to blaspheme the Holy Spirit

8. The only way to be saved, is to be saved from sin.

9. It is hard to be free from sin, but NOT impossible

10. God does not condemn us to hell for not holding sinless perfection

11. Here’s what will happen on the judgment day according to the Bible.

12. Hell is a choice we make in our heart

Imagine being there in that time and place as one of the disciples, looking into His face and hearing those words. When a risen Jesus, who had conquered death, issued this directive to you, what would be your first priority?

Imagine for a second that Jesus knew exactly how things were going to go down. Imagine He knew that His words would be recorded and shared and preached among believers for 2000 years after the fact.

The Bible isn’t meant to be cut apart and examined and explained and interpreted. It’s meant to be read and obeyed. What does it say? That’s actually what it means.

Letting go of old beliefs is hard. When you’ve been raised to believe something so fundamentally that it forms the basis of your spirituality, it can be quite difficult and disorienting to learn that your belief isn’t supported by the Scriptures or by the facts.

But the fact of the matter is that it simply isn’t taught in the Bible. It originated 1,500 years after the last books of the Bible were written, at the time of the Protestant Reformation.

However, if you are able to release from your mind the non-Biblical, human-originated doctrine of salvation by faith alone, then the things I am saying here will become so clear to you.

You will wonder how you ever embraced the shade of salvation by faith alone when there exists the far greater light of the free gift of salvation by the love and grace of God for all who are willing to accept that love by trusting in God and doing His commandments (John 14:21).

The only things that Jesus asks us to deny ourselves are what will rob us of eternal joy. Heaven is a place for those who are willing to do anything for God, even if it means giving up their sin. God bless you with eternal life and joy in the vast community of service that is in heaven.

If you are honestly seeking the true teachings of Jesus, the Bible, and Christianity, I invite you to “search the scriptures” for yourself (John 5:39). Search diligently for even a single place in the entire Bible where it says that we are saved or justified by faith alone.

You will not find one.

Read the Bible from beginning to end, and you will see that everywhere from Genesis to the Book of Revelation, it says that if we wish to be saved, we must repent from our evil deeds and do good deeds instead.

Moses says it. The Prophets say it. Peter, Paul, James, and John say it. And most of all, the Lord Jesus Christ says it.

POINT ONE

God created us to have a relationship with Him.

People are made in God’s image and comprised of mind, strength, emotions, and will. We are moral beings knowing what is ‘right’ and ‘fair’, and what is not.

God has shared with us His attributes of love, self-awareness, justice, grace, and mercy. They are part of the very being of humanity.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; (Genesis 1:27)

POINT TWO

Earthly desires hide Him from us.

In His love, He desires reciprocal love. But as we look at humanity today, we see a great rejection of God’s rule & presence in many lives. They hide from God in seeking earthly pleasures.

Their hearts are now filled with momentary desires, rather than eternal love. Man seeks the benefits of God while fleeing from God Himself. They don’t realize that they can’t reject God on earth and accept Him in heaven.

but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. (Isaiah 59:2)

POINT THREE

Forsake your sins & turn to God now.

The plain teaching of the Bible is to “Repent” and “Sin no more”. Jesus came into the world to seek and save the lost. The Bible insists we repeatedly seek after God.

The conclusion we draw from these texts is that since we are called to seek after God it must mean that we, even in our fallen state, have the moral capacity & ability to do that seeking. To reach God’s kingdom, one has to turn away from his sinful path and walk in God’s path.

The only way for humans to be reconciled to God is for humans to stop sinning against God, and to start living righteously guided by God’s Words. When we turn to Christ and receive His forgiveness, we experience a heart change (Acts 1:8).

Rather than continue in the self-centered path that leads us astray from Him, the forgiven walk in God’s path (Luke 14:27). When Jesus saw that the Jews believed in Him, He did not stop there.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:27–28)

What is the purpose of this life?

The answer is not just to go to heaven or avoid hell, but to build a good relationship with God, simply because He is our Father and He loves us so much than any person would. So obviously we would wish to spend our eternal life with Him.

But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? (Ezekiel 18:21–23)
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)
No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. (Luke 13:3–5)
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31–32)

Luke 15:1–7 is my favorite parable because I’m born again in Christ and completely changed because of God’s grace that saved me when I was drowned.

He drew me towards Him through my lowest phase in life and now I’m glad to realize how Heaven will be rejoicing since I turned towards God as I love Him to the core.

That joy is unexplainable.